South African duo Frigid Armadillo have opened up about the important role Sun-El Musician has played in their journey, revealing that their relationship with the acclaimed producer began with mentorship long before it resulted in music.
Speaking at the launch of their latest album, The Light, the duo reflected on their early interactions with Sun-El Musician and how his guidance helped give them direction at a time when they were still trying to understand where they wanted to take their careers.
A conversation that changed their direction
According to Frigid Armadillo, one of their earliest meaningful encounters with Sun-El wasn’t centred around making a record.
Instead, he invited them to sit down and think seriously about their future in the music industry.
“It was like, sit down, what do you boys like for yourselves? What do you want to do in the industry? Where do you see yourself in the next year? Five? Ten? How can I help you get there?” the duo recalled.
The conversation made such an impression that they walked away viewing Sun-El as more than simply another musician.
“I left there feeling like, huh, do I have a big brother now? Because that’s how it felt,” they shared, adding that they left the meeting with “no music, just lessons.”
‘We were so directionless at the time’
Looking back, the duo admitted that although they had already accumulated a body of music, they hadn’t yet developed a clear sense of where they were going.
They described Sun-El as the first artist who genuinely stepped forward to help them navigate that uncertainty.
“He was actually the first artist who helped,” they explained. “We had a bunch of music, but there was no direction as to where we were going.”
That initial conversation ultimately prompted Frigid Armadillo to reconsider their trajectory, with the duo saying they took much of Sun-El’s advice to heart and began changing the direction they were heading in.
A relationship that continued to grow
While one half of Frigid Armadillo later spent several years living in Cape Town, the relationship with Sun-El continued to develop.
The duo explained that Siya maintained the connection, describing the friendship through the metaphor of planting a seed that would eventually grow into their collaboration.
“Siya just kept cultivating that relationship. And the cultivation planted a seed, and the seed germinated into what we know as Sunshine,” they said.
‘Sunshine’ was born from a late-night studio session
Interestingly, the eventual collaboration wasn’t the result of a carefully planned studio session.
Frigid Armadillo revealed that the beginnings of “Sunshine” came during a late-night session when everyone was exhausted and preparing to call it a night.
“And then Sunshine itself, it was a very late studio session. The last idea, we were dead tired about to sleep. And then some chords were played,” they recalled.
Even then, the idea wasn’t immediately developed into a finished record.
The chords were put aside and remained untouched for around a year before inspiration eventually returned.
“We hit the chord, thought nothing of it, sat for, like, a year. And then one day, just, yeah, you know, as a creative, moments hit you. And it hit that day, and Sunshine was born.”
More than just a collaboration
Frigid Armadillo’s reflections at The Light launch reveal that their relationship with Sun-El Musician extends well beyond a studio collaboration.
Long before Sunshine existed, there was mentorship, conversation and guidance with Sun-El helping two young creatives think more intentionally about the musicians they wanted to become.
For Frigid Armadillo, what began as a simple sit-down with someone willing to share his experience ultimately developed into a lasting creative relationship and, years later, music that carries the story of that connection.
